Sunday, 27 September 2026

The DC Lucky Bag - September 1976.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 
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Colin Jones recently pointed out in the comments section that pub landlord and Philosopher Supreme Al Murray once declared that DC don't care about us.

But do we care about DC?

Here's where we find out.

Limited Collectors' Edition #C-47, Superman

As you would expect, Superman's not failed to notice that the country he lives in is 200 years old

However, much of the book is composed of reprints from the 1940s and 50s and we kick off with a short tale in which the man of steel uses a time projector to watch men called Tomahawk and Dan Hunter have their first encounter with George Washington.

That's followed by stories bearing such diverse titles as Adventure in New York!, The Magic Tomahawk!, The First Sub and Frontier Theater!

There's also a tale in which George Washington's men suffer through Valley Forge.

Then, Tomahawk and Dan Hunter are back. And, this time, they discover a friend has joined the British army, meaning they must engage in a battle of wits with him! Of course, they could just join the British army too and avoid such unpleasantness but that doesn't seem to have occurred to them.

We also encounter a bonus feature that showcases a newspaper from that war. One which covers various events from the conflict, including its conclusion.

There's also a Map of the Battle of Bunker Hill, a feature that tells us Who Were the Hessians and a page dedicated to the Presidents of the United States.

Limited Collectors' Edition #C-46, Justice League of America

But it's not just Supes who's landed a Limited Collectors' Edition. So have his friends at the Justice League.

Not for them concerns about the Bicentennial. Instead, they kick off with a 24-page epic titled Decoy Missions of the Justice League! followed by The JLA on TV, The Deadly Dreams of Doctor Destiny! and a whole host of short features, puzzles and pin-ups.

Needless to say, most of this content is reprinted from the 1960s.

Swamp Thing #24, final issue

Can it be? Can the Swamp Thing have reached his final issue?

Yes he can and, judging by that cover, he gets a smack in the chops while he's at it.

I have read this book and I would tell you what happens in it but I can't recall anything that happens in it.

Obviously, there's a yellow man who likes wearing purple and he's got it in for our hero.

I do, however, know the story's called The Earth Below and is brought to us by the talents of David Anthony Kraft, Gerry Conway and Ernie Chan.

Starfire #1

Swamp Thing may be saying goodbye to the world but Starfire's saying hello to it, as issue #1 of her comic introduces us to a plot in which 
she escapes from someone called the Mygorg, learns to fight, frees some slaves and starts building an army!

This busy woman's brought to us by David Michelinie and Mike Vosburg and is not to be confused with a whole slew of other comicbook characters who bear the same name.

Ragman #1

And another new book arrives in our lives. This time, with a memorable cover by Joe Kubert, while Robert Kanigher, Kubert and the Redondo Studio unveil an adventure that reveals The Origin of the Tatterdemalion.

The Joker #9, final issue

The Joker, meanwhile, has already reached the end of his road and the last issue of his book sees the clown prince of crime confront 
the feline femme of felony when each of them foolishly attempts to kidnap the same movie star.

Green Lantern #90

This may not be a new comic but it has returned, following a four-year absence.

And it does so explosively when a nuclear test reveals a long-buried spaceship, causing our heroes to attempt the liberation of an alien from his captors.

But can it be that all is not as it seems?

And will the two men stand around having an argument about it that reflects their different outlooks on life?

Freedom Fighters #4

I know little of the contents of this one but I do know that, thanks to Martin Pasko and Ramona Fradon, Wonder Woman helps the Freedom Fighters clear their name.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

In terms of covers, DC really loved purples & greens, didn't it? Superman's Bicentennial backdrop shield resembles Cap A's original shield, but with more stars. Was Cap's older, as there were fewer states, then? Or, maybe Doc Erskine & the boys were nostalgic, for an even earlier America!

Phillip

Anonymous said...

Bunker Hill. You just dont hear about Bunker Hill anymore. We used to hear about Archie Bunker though in the 1970s.

Funniest show ever? Idk… but it has to be close.

Know what else is funny? Bunker Hill was fought on Breed’s Hill.

Anonymous said...

Of these , I had:

SWAMP THING (terrible)

STARFIRE (not great but not too shabby)

GL/GA (I had started to become somewhat disenchanted with Grell’s art but don’t really remember why)

RAGMAN (by far, the best of this lot)

b.t.

Colin Jones said...

Joe/Charlie, Archie Bunker was based on the British comedy character Alf Garnett.

McSCOTTY said...

I only had Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Ragman from the above. Like b.t. I had gotten a little bored with Mike Grells work at this time. Kuberts Ragman was pretty nice though.

Anonymous said...

Apologies for going off topic...

Joe - Before I retire to bed, here's a topic of interest...

According to yesterday's Look North (a local news shoe), the new Beatles movie's currently being filmed at Saltaire, near Bradford:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crgqdd2e1ykeo

Phillip

Anonymous said...

Thanks Phillip!!! Interesting indeed!!! It is, too me, indicative of something that sooo many TV and Film releases have been about the Beatles, their lives, their music. And yet I can’t think of a single thing out there about the Stones, Who, Led Zep, Pink Floyd besides the Stones Altaminy thing about 45-50 years ago. That said there was the play going around the last few years about The Kinks (I highly recommend!).

And interesting thing about that, the Kinks were banned from rhe US at their prime because they would not do pay off / buy off the Unions (teamsters, electriciand, etc.) so one might’ve thought, out of all those big British bands, that they would’ve been the least likely to have a playmate about them.

Cheers! Joe

Anonymous said...

And I hate to go off topic too, but Steve,are you going to give us a blow by below review of the international Conkers championship coming up on October 11?

Anonymous said...

Those Collector's Editions were basically just reprints, and the art looked rather crude being expanded to a larger format, but those covers....
Just fantastic. Is that Mike Grell or Nick Cardy up there?
M.P.

Steve W. said...

Charlie, I always feels the thing that makes conkers magical is when it has an air of mystery about it. Such as not knowing when or where it's happened. Nor who's won it and how.

Steve W. said...

MP, the JLA cover is by Neal Adams and the Superman cover is by Fred Ray.

Anonymous said...

Joe - About the bands you mentioned, maybe not. However, the Dave Clark Five had a very positive, and upbeat film/doc, broadcast some years ago. It may have been by Dave Clark, himself, but I couldn't swear to it.

Phillip

Anonymous said...

Steve, surely you know the yellow man wearing purple in Swamp Thing #24 was Thrudwang? After all, you reviewed #23 on this very blog.
Anyway, b.t. is right about it not being that good a comic, and it was excised from the continuity by the time Swampy returned the following year in Challengers of the Unknown - which is just as well, or Alan Moore couldn't have written 'Anatomy Lesson' - so no need to go into details here.

Thats a great cover for Starfire #1 - she looks cool, a blurb promises "a new epic of Swords & Science!"... and there's no Comics Code seal! Sadly though the latter was apparently just a production error, rather than an indication that DC were boldly pushing boundaries.

Even so, the cover's still great, and after seeing it in a DC house ad back in the day I soooo wanted to read the comic. But it was the newstand era, so inevitably I never found it anywhere, and had to wait for Starfire #2.
Which was a big disappointment. I was expecting a sort of female Killraven in space, but instead the series turned out to be just another Claw-style DC go at a Conan imitation. Or rather, in this case, Red Sonja.

In theory, the comic should have got a bit better when Steve Englehart became writer for #s6 and 7, and made it more science-fictiony. I assume he had an editorial brief to reboot the series, as Starfire herself got not one makeover, but two.
She got a pair of thigh boots and a mini dress (with a similar colour/pattern to her original outfit) in #6, and then went for the underwear look in #7 seen here:

https://www.comics.org/issue/31408/cover/4/

Seriously, that really is her underwear. On page two her dress gets ripped off as she goes through a doorway. As she says in the next panel, "Looks like I lost my modesty to a rusty nail!" Thats a verbatim quote btw. Just to give you an idea of the quality of the writing...

-sean

McSCOTTY said...

I only ever saw ( and purchased) Starfire issue 2 . I don't think I saw another issue until specialist stores arrived. The later costume ( her underwear) seems like a desperate ploy to grab the attention if horny teenage boys which as a 16 year old at the time I may have fallen for.

DC must have really liked the name Starfire as they also used it for 2 DC baddies and of course for the Teen Titans member.

Steve W. said...

Sean, I'm shocked at myself, How could I have forgotten a villain with a name like Thrudwang?

Anonymous said...

Well Steve it would seem you could start your own magical mystery tour of Conkers, Cheese Rolling, Bog Snorkeling, pie eating, and hedge laying!

(I saw what you did there mate! Well played says this Beatles fan! You deserve another no-prize!!!!)